Rolling bearings are common mechanical elements that are used in many different applications. There are different kinds of rolling bearings, which are designed to fulfill different requirements. Depending on the conditions of a specific application, i.e. load level, rotation speed, temperature etc., there are different kinds of suitable rolling bearings. One bearing type is spherical roller bearing (SRB). This bearing is designed to accommodate radial and axial loads, but also it is designed to be able to accommodate shaft deflections, i.e. the bearing rings are able to be relatively misaligned. Thus, this bearing is especially suitable for more demanding industrial applications, such as machines in pulp & paper industry, wind turbines etc.
For some SRB types there is a groove on the outer peripheral surface of its outer ring, in which groove there are a number of lubrication bores. The groove is designed to be as narrow as possible for not affecting the load carrying capacity of the bearing. The purpose of the groove is to receive lubricant from the outside and to therefrom enter into the lubrication bores to thereby lubricate the bearing. The lubricant may for example be oil or grease.
The inner sphere raceway on the outer ring of a spherical roller bearing may be hard machined. This may be a time consuming and also costly process, but on the other hand it also leads to a surface with good properties and a high quality.